1 Woe to the city of bloodshed {damim: site of slaughter}! It is full of falsehood and plunder {perek: violent plunder}, and the spoil {taref: captured spoil} never departs.
2 The sound of a whip {shot: tool of punishment}, and the rumble of wheels {ofan: chariot parts}, a galloping horse, and a bounding chariot.
3 Horsemen charge {maaleh: rise upward}, with the flame {velahav: blazing intensity} of the sword and the lightning of the spear; a multitude of slain and a heavy burden of corpses; there is no end to the bodies—they stumble over the dead.
4 Because of the abundance of harlotries {zenunei: acts of prostitution} by the harlot, the woman of captivating charm {khen: enthralling grace}, mistress of sorceries, she sells nations through her harlotries and families through her sorceries.
5 Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot: Divine Warrior}. I will uncover your skirts upon your face and show the nations your nakedness {ma’areikh: exposed condition} and the kingdoms your shame.
6 And I {YHWH, Divine Judge} will throw defiling filth upon you and make you vile, and I will set you as a spectacle {keroi: object of derision}.
7 And it will come to pass {vehayah: future certainty} that all who look upon you will flee from you and say, “Nineveh is laid waste; who will lament for her? From where shall I seek comforters {menachamim: those who give solace} for you?”
8 Are you better than No-Amon {no-amon: Egyptian Thebes}, who dwelt among the rivers {yeorim: Nile branches}, with waters encircling her, whose stronghold was the sea and whose wall was from the sea?
9 Cush was her strength, and Egypt too, and there was no limit {ketzeh: boundary}; Put and the Lubim were her support {be-ezratekh: assistance}.
10 Also she went into exile; she went into captivity; also her infants {olaleha: very young children} were dashed to pieces at the head of every street; and upon her honored men {nikhbadeha: those of high social status} they cast lots, and all her great men were bound in chains.
11 You also will be drunk; you will become hidden {naʿalamah: concealed withdrawal}; you also will seek refuge {maʿoz: fortified shelter} from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses {mivtzarayikh: defensive bulwarks} are like fig trees with their first-ripe figs; if they are shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater {okhel: one who consumes}.
13 Behold, your people are women {nashim: symbol of vulnerability} in your midst; the gates of your land have been opened wide to your enemies; fire {esh: agent of destruction} has devoured your bars.
14 Draw water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses {mivtzarayikh: defensive strongholds}; enter the clay and tread the mortar; make strong the brick mold {malben: brick-forming mold}.
15 There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the locust {ka-ya-lek: ravenous swarm}. Multiply yourself like the locust; multiply yourself like the grasshopper {ka-ar-beh: overwhelming swarm}.
16 You have multiplied your merchants {rokhlaikh: traders} beyond the stars {mikokhvei: hyperbolic multitude} of the heavens; the locust spreads out and then flies away.
17 Your crowned ones are like the locust {arbeh: devastating swarm}, and your officers are like a swarm of locusts {govai: dense multitude} who encamp in the fences on a cold day; when the sun rises they depart, and their place is not known—where are they?
18 Your shepherds {roekha: leaders or guides within Ancient Near Eastern society} slumber, O king of Assyria; your nobles will rest. Your people have been scattered {nafshu: dispersed and left without protection} upon the mountains, and there is no one who gathers them.
19 There is no relief for your fracture {shivrecha: brokenness}; your wound is grievous. All who hear the report about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has your evil {raatkha: wickedness} not passed continually?